Vitor Pereira contract update emerges after Nottingham Forest talks

The Portuguese made a significant impact Trentside when he became the club’s fourth head coach of the 2025/26 campaign in February. He steered the Reds to Premier League safety with two games to spare and guided them to the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Discussions about a fresh deal had taken place toward the end of the term. Pereira has 12 months remaining on his current contract and said last month it would “not be difficult” to reach an agreement over a new one.

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According to the BBC, the talks have been “put on hold” for the time being as it is felt “now is not the right time” to continue. Pereira and Forest “remain committed to the future”, with the 57-year-old said to be keen to extend his stay while the club “remain interested” in renewing his deal, and the intention is to restart discussions after the 2026/27 season has started.

Pereira was recently linked with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal. He had spoken about his commitment to the Reds after his side’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on the final day of the campaign.

Indicating he would meet with the Forest hierarchy after enjoying a short break, he said at the time: "I will have a meeting. They want that I stay, I want to stay. It's not difficult to find an agreement."

Prior to that, Pereira had confirmed discussions had already taken place regarding a new deal. He had said: “Yes, of course. If not, it is impossible to start speaking about pre-season, about the future, about the players.

“About the contract, we’ll do it, for sure. But I’m not worried about it because the most important thing is to start to align everything and to discuss everything; to know we are on the same page.”

The Reds finished 16th, five points clear of the relegation zone, courtesy of their turnaround in fortunes under Pereira. Sean Dyche, Ange Postecoglou and Nuno Espirito Santo had preceded him in the hot seat during a challenging 12 months at the City Ground.

The aim when the new term begins will be to challenge further up the table and push for a return to European football. Forest will find out their Premier League fixtures for 2026/27 on Friday (June 19) at 10am.